Car-coupling.



Patented luly 30, I90I. W. S. LENNUN.

CAB COUPLING.

(Application led Mar. 12, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VATSON SIMPSON LENN ON, OF TUCSON, ARIZONA TERRITORY.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 67 9,629, dated July 30, 1901.

Application filed March 12, 1901. Serial No. 50,821. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, WATSON SIMPSON LEN- NON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Tucson,in the county of Pima and Territory of Arizona, have invented a new and Improved Car-Coupling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a class of carcouplings having a laterally-swinging jaw or knuckle adapted to couple with a like knuckle on another car-coupling and by manual adjustment be released therefrom.

The object of my invention is to provide novel simple details of construction for a carcoupling of the class indicated, which adapts it for very efficient service and avoids the contingency of breakage of the draw-head to which others of ordinary construction are liable.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as is hereinafter described, and defined in the appended claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a car-coupling having the improvements. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is a partly-sectional plan view of the improved car coupling. Fig. 4. is a longitudinal sectional view substantially on the line Il 4 in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view substantially on the line 5 5V in Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view substantially on the line 6 6 in Fig. l. Fig. 7 is abottoln plan View of a knuckle-block employed. Fig. Sis a partlysectional side-view of a locking-block which shows features of the invention, and Fig. 9 is a partly-sectional plan view of the lockingblock and a plan view of a portion of a tripping-shaft detachably Secured in a perforation in the locking-block.

In the drawings, 10 indicates the draw-head, and 11 the draw-bar, extended from the drawhead, as usual, for connection with a carframe to adapt the car-coupling for service.

A recess or chamber a is formed in the drawi head body for the reception of a knuckleblock, which will be hereinafter described. The forward edges ofthe top and bottom walls of the draw-head 10 are concaved and merge at one side of the draw-head into a horn 10a and at the opposite side thereof into a pair of `spaced flanges 10b, which is a common cou- Struction for this type of car-couplings.

The knuckle block is substantially L- shaped, and comprises a neck l2, from which is integrally projected the coupling-jaw 12a, that extends laterally. A tailpiece 12b isintegrally formed on the neck l2 4and is laterally widened at the same side of the neck from which the jaw 12 projects. A curved rib b is formed oppositely on each side of the tailpiece 12b, the front edges of which are concave and the rear edges convex. The thickness of the tailpiece through the ribs l) is slightly less than the height of the space or chamber a between the upper and lower walls of the draw-head, so that the ribs when introduced will freely move in said chamber.

The neck 12 of the tailpiece is of less thickness than that of the jaw 12a or tailpiece at its ribs h, and, as shown in Fig. 5, like projections c are formed on the upper and lower Walls,which define the chamber a, loosely engaging the top and bottom surfaces of the neck l2, and likewise the shoulders c', formed where the thinner body of the neck merges into the front edges of the ribs h and the rear edges of the coupling-jaw l2, as also appears in Fig. 5.

It will be seen that the ribs h may be freely inserted endwise behind the projections or ribs c and that said projections c will then be adapted to traverse the spaces defined by the shoulders .c' When the coupling-jaw 12a is rocked between the draw-head flanges 10b, S0 as to open or close it. The lower rib b is reduced in width for a portion of its length by removal of material at the rearvedge thereof, said reduction forming a trackway d, terminating at a shoulder d near a Side edge of the tailpiece that contacts with the side wall of the chamber a, from which the draw-head flanges 10b extend forwardly when the coupling-jaw is fully opened.

A headed pin 13 is removably inserted in a perforation in the lower wall of the drawhead chamber a, near its forward free edge, and has such a relative position that the head thereof which projects above the draw-head wall will be positioned in the trackway d.

The pin 13 may be held in place by a crosskey or by any other preferred means. It

' will be seen that upon rocking the coupling- The width of the chamber a affords a suitable spaceat the straight side edge of the tailpiece when the coupling-jaw of the knuckleblock is in closed adjustment, as shown in Fig. 3, and in this space a locking-block 14 is held to rock toward and from the bottom wall of the chamber a, as shown in Fig. 1. The iocking-block 1-1 is parallel on its sides and lof a thickness which permits it to fit loosely between the adjacent side of the chamber a 'and the'straight side of the tailpiece on the knuckle-block.

An angular perforation e,preferably square in form, is produced transversely in the locking-block 111,near its normal rear end, and a tripping-shaft 15,Which is held to rock transversely in a perforation in the draw-head body 10,has at asuitable point two opposite and parallel flat places e formed thereon. tened reductions e on the cylindrical body of the tripping-shaft 15 will fit into a corresponding recess e2, formed in the rear side ofthe mainperforation e in the locking-block 14, as shown in Fig. 8. In the forward edge of the shaft 15, where it has the flattened formations e thereon, a notch g is formed, and a mating slot his produced in the locking-block 14, which crosses the path of. the transverse perforation e..

vAn L-shaped detentdog 1G, preferably formed of spring metal, has one of its :nembers secured near the forward end upon the vlower edge of the locking-block 14, so that the other member thereof may project loosely up into the vertical slot h and have a locking engagement with the notch g if the shaft 15 is inserted sufficiently to cause the notch g and slot h to register with each other.

Itis obvious from the foregoing description of parts that'when the knuckle-block is swung so as to close the jaw 12 and the lockingblock 14 is lowered so as to occupy the space in the draw-head at the side of the tailpiece The l'latof the knuckle-block said jaw 12a will be held in closed adjustment, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The outer end of the shaft l5 may terminate in a crank-handle 15a, or this may be an arm coupled with a suitable device on a car for manual adjustment by a person on the car, and as this is an ordinary provision it is not necessary to show it in connection with the improved ear-coupling.

It is claimed for the improvement that it will remove draft strain from the flanges 10b of the draw-head, whereon it is common to pivot the knuckle-block, and as these fianges are the weakest part of the draw-head their breakage is frequent 'when they sustain the pull of the coupling-jaw on the knuckle, as is the case in the ordinary construction of car-couplings of` this class.

The flanges 10b are shown as perforated in A alinement in Fig..1, which is not essential, but may be done, so vas to allow a common knuckle-block to be introduced in case of accident to the one of ,preferred construction, the perfor-ations p in this case accommodating a pivot-bolt, as usual.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- [n a car-coupling, the combination with a chamber-ed draw-head, and a rockable knuckle-block therein which is L-shaped, of a transverse trippingshaft rockable in the draw-head near its rear end, a locking-block of elongated form through which the shaft passes and an L-shaped detent-dog having one member secured upon the lower side of the locking-block, and the other member which is resilient projecting up through a slot in the locking-block to enter a notch in the trippi ng-shaft and thus hold the locking-block detachably secured upon the shaft which block when in lowered adjustment contacts with a side of the tailpiece on the knuckle to hold it stationary.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VWATSON SIMPSON LENNON.

Witnesses:

F. J. RUSSELL, J oHNAUG. OLSON.

ICO 

